Siege of Budapest

The Siege of Budapest occurred from 29 December to 13 February 1945 when the Soviet Red Army and the Romanian army encircled the Hungarian capital of Budapest, defended by 102,000 German and Royal Hungarian Army troops. At the beginning of January 1945, four German divisions were trapped in Budapest by a Soviet offensive into Hungary, and the IV SS Panzer Corps failed to break through to help the defenders. The Soviets engaged the Germans and Hungarians in tough urban warfare, and the Axis forces began to run out of supplies. On 17 January 1945, Adolf Hitler had German troops withdraw from the Pest district to defend the Buda district, and the Soviets and some Hungarian defectors continued the fight for the city. On 13 February 1945, after a failed breakout attempt, the last German and Hungarian defenders decided to surrender, ending the bloody battle. Budapest's fall led to the colapse of the Axis forces in Hungary, and the German Operation Spring Awakening counterattack would dramatically fail.